AIBU to think tickets and popular places are much harder to access now

[dapplefox]

Listening on the radio this morning about the Bayeux Tapestry being shown in London presently but also that it's completely sold out until January with no new tickets available yet. A friend of mind was unable to get tickets to the Frieda Kahlo show at the Tate recently and I've lost count of the number of times I have not been able to get tickets for a concert in recent years.

I remember years ago it used to be fairly easy to get ticket for a ballet, a theatre show (we went to see one in 2006 with a really star studded cast in London and got the tickets easily and it was much cheaper). I could easily get a ticket to see quite a large band like Primal Scream at a time when they were really popular at a really small venue but now similar acts often sell out super quick at much larger venues i.e. one that holds 15k people over 2k.

Is there just that much more people in the UK now? Do people just go to things as a matter of course if they can get a ticket whereas in the past it was more likely to be dedicated fans? It's so expensive I find this crazy although I know it happens as I met some friends at a Cure concert a couple of years ago and I was surprised as I hadn't known they like the Cure, when I said this they said they didn't really know their music but thought it would be a good experience!

Related to this is how social media can mean that some places, cafes, bakeries, bars whatever become massive hotspots due to social media like in LA there is a pink wall which loads of people travel to for instagram photos and they buy a pink Starbucks drink take a photo or reel then they dump their undrunk drink.

On one hand if people can afford it and get a ticket then why not it's a free country but on the other it is so hard to get tickets for stuff these days or to many places because it's always so busy and over subscribed.

Why is it so much harder to access anything now compared to 20 - 30 years ago when its all so much more expensive?

I agree with this. Accessibility has improved to a wider range of people.

Although it was busy when we went to see it in France last summer (probably as it was the summer holidays) it certainly wasn't difficult getting to see it. I don't really understand the hype about seeing it in London!

It's not just special one off events, it's normal tourist attractions now.

Everything needs to be booked in advance.

We went to Morocco a couple of Christmases ago, had to book tickets for the Jardin Majorelle. Fine. Last time I went we just rocked up, no queue, hardly anyone there. Now it's hell on earth shuffling in a queue the whole way round, not a bit of solitude or peace.

It was the early 1990s. Dad had been made redundant, then the mortgage interest rate went up to 15%.

Not good times for asking your parents to pay for things!

That's sad. It's one of my favourite places.
Obviously it's nice that lots of people are getting to experience it, but the experience won't be the same.

I live in London so I'm used to crowds but hate shuffling around an exhibition trying to look last people to see anything.

I love the way that in the big free museums there is always a quiet bit. Skip Egypt at the BM and go look at clocks and money, or walk past the fashion at the V&A and see the (amazing) ceramics and glass galleries.

I think it happened in the early to mid 2000s, when shopping on the high street started to lose its appeal as people got the message that it was seen as a poor pass-time and that smarter people preferred experiences. Lo and behold, all event venues became chock-a-block and the shops emptied. It’s now almost impossible to get tickets to anything unless you’re a member/friend/patron, paying a hefty annual fee for first dibs to access. Add to that the booming population and you have your answer, oh, and social media bragging value of course.

@Snoreluca absolutely. But also my parents didn't have a feeling of panic or of tickets running out. Fomo I suppose.

My kids panic if they think they will miss out on something.

Greater awareness due to social media. Go back pre-social media and you'd have had to look that kind of thing up to know it was happening; go back pre-internet and you'd rely on newspaper or magazine adverts, fan club mailing lists and word of mouth. Unless something was big enough to make the general news - possibly the Tutankhamun exhibition previously referenced fell into this bracket - you had to be interested in it to know about it.

Yes! I remember queuing for what seemed like hours with my mum and Dad to get in to see that in 1972!!! I still have the catalogue /book/programme from it! It was worth it though, to see the wonderful items! I was 8!😀

Not true. They had not practically given all the tickets away for £1 to people on benefits.

This is one of the big changes that make me feel my age! I'm so old that, when you wanted to visit a historical site, exhibition or show, you just went. I wandered around Stonehenge, Pompeii, the Colosseum and Acropolis unfettered. Bought theatre, concert and cinema tickets on the door.

Very occasionally got disappointed when something was sold out, sometimes bought tickets for huge acts or premieres a few days in advance. Didn't really have to queue for Tutankhamun; we waited until the initial excitement had died down, although we were 'directed' round the exhibition, which felt restrictive at the time!

Since I have an irrational loathing of rigorously planned, rigidly scheduled activities, I just don't go to things any more 😢The free spirit is dead.

@IThinkThereforeIPaint I agree with you. Shuffling around a busy exhibition or gallery is pointless. I’ve made a real effort the last few years to visit places off season, seek out lesser known galleries/ attractions and find under the radar destinations.

Best thing I’ve ever done, the UK and Europe are full of absolute treasures and there’s just no need to endure over crowding and inflated prices. Even with the constraint of school holidays.

how do you know this, out of interest? I know lots of cultural attractions do offer £1 tickets if you are in receipt of UC and other benefits, but can't imagine how you'd know how many tickets were bought that way rather than normally?

It is a bit ironic that this thread is running at the same time as another one complaining that middle class luxuries are increasingly out of reach.

On one hand apparently the COL is extortionate and nobody can afford anything, yet somehow simultaneously enough people have excess income that musicians, theatres, exhibitions, restaurants and coffee shops can charge exorbitantly but still not match demand!

I'm obviously not saying that just because some people have excess income nobody is struggling (you obviously don't see the people who aren't out spending), but it does seem to cast into doubt the party line (whether traditional media, or on here or other social media) that everybody is hard up and can barely cover their daily bills, let alone tiny luxuries.

This is such bollocks. I booked tickets for January this week.

This is a really good point actually. I went to a gig the other week and it was all 'old people'. I went to Pete Tong orchestra the other year and that was all people with grey hair or who were bald too! I never felt so you and so old at the same time 😂 (I don't have grey hair yet!)

You see older people going to theme parks and whatnot, whereas when I was 'young' parents didn't really do that sort of stuff.

I guess this goes a long way to explaining why places seem so much busier, despite people struggling with the cost of living and the price of everything

This.

In 2022 DH and I were on holiday in France and spent our last two nights in Bayeux. We went to see the Tapestry; no pre-booking required we just rocked up in the morning when it opened. Wasn't particularly crowded and we could spend as long as we liked looking at it.

I suppose though they must be being super careful and vigilant while it is here. Think how awful it would be if something bad happened to it on our watch.

It really is worth seeing though. It's terrific. Anyone who can't get tickets for it in London make a trip to Bayeux sometime!

I think social media has made events more “known” if that makes sense so a bigger audience is reached.

I also think people use credit cards etc so things which may have had availability closer to the date sells out faster.

I saw the Bayeux tapestry in Bayeux ad it was really quiet. I will wait until it is back there if I want to see it again. London trips are usually overnight and an expensive train journey anyway.

There are fewer venues.
Increase in population = increase in performers as well as punters.
New bands need new band nights to get experience.

I agree! I used to go to Glastonbury when I was younger and I just.....bought a ticket. I wasn't worried I wouldn't get one!

Yeah we went a few years ago and the museum was really quiet....and peaceful. It was a lovely experience. Bayeux was lovely too. Tapestry was amazing though....so so long!